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| Vivaness 2015: vegan beauty products popular  More and more people are opting for a vegan lifestyle. In Europe in particular this is a well established trend in the food trade. Now the focus is increasingly on vegan beauty products. At Vivaness from 11 to 14 February 2015, professional buyers in the cosmetics sector can visit the new products stand and be inspired by vegan product innovations. For the first time there is a corresponding trend category there. In 2015, Vivaness once again expects 200 exhibitors from the global market for natural cosmetics to attend the industry get-together in Nuremberg.Vegan cosmetics not always natural and organic The demand for cosmetics that are produced without animal testing and without animal ingredients is booming. When customers are deciding what to buy, ethical reasons very often play a part: they want to use care products that have not caused any animal to suffer. Many consumers assume that natural and organic cosmetics are the same as vegan cosmetics – and the other way round. Natural cosmetics contain plant material but also just a few substances of animal origin like bees wax. Since synthetic ingredients are not permitted, in a number of cases animal substances are a proven alternative. This is not so with vegan cosmetics, where no substances whatsoever of animal origin are used. However, synthetic ingredients are permitted provided that, in compliance with the criteria of the animal welfare associations, they have not been tested on animals. Thus, vegan cosmetics are not always synonymous with natural cosmetics, although natural and organic cosmetics can certainly be vegan! Animal welfare drives buying decision A trend study of natural and vegan cosmetics, carried out by the market research company pollion (Berlin) in September 2014 on behalf of the Dortmund publisher naturkosmetik verlag, established a clear link between diet and the use of cosmetics. "Consumers of organic products on a daily basis are increasingly those people who use natural and vegan cosmetics – we see here a clear profiling opportunity for the organic and health food trade, " explains Elfriede Dambacher, industry expert and managing director of naturkosmetik verlag. Thus the main beneficiary of the sale of vegan cosmetics has (so far) been the specialist trade: 76 % of interviewees buy their cosmetics in organic and health food stores. The data in the study reveal a trend: vegan cosmetics are important for 84 % of vegan consumers. Half of the people in the survey appreciate a vegan logo – among vegans the figure is 89 %. However, even more important than a vegan logo is an animal welfare logo. For 80 % of the interviewees animal welfare is extremely important. According to the study, eating habits appear not to play a very significant role in animal welfare; the decision in favour of vegan cosmetics is not necessarily linked to veganism.Just as revealing is the user group itself: users of vegan cosmetics are much younger. Every third user is under 30. Vegan advertising: nothing new for the trade "Because of the strong interest in vegan food, vegan cosmetics are acquiring a new sales platform, " maintains Axel Rungweber, managing director of Dr. Bronner´s Germany. However, industry experts are concerned to see that the rising demand for vegan cosmetics is leading to a situation where, alongside natural cosmetics, more cosmetics products are once again being sold that do not meet the criteria of certified natural cosmetics. For a long time, the trade has had much to offer consumers who place value on vegan natural cosmetics, and vegan cosmetics are emerging increasingly from their niche. "The value of the vegan label – the vegan flower of the British Vegan Society– has been enhanced in the course of its 70-year history by being used by many natural cosmetics brands, " says Sabine Kästner, press officer at Laverana. "It signals to the consumer that a certified product contains only renewable raw materials of plant origin – which is for us the reason why we have been registered vegan since 2004 and now use the label for around 90 % of the Lavera product range." Natural cosmetics: in search of vegan alternatives? Manufacturers of natural cosmetics face the decision to follow the trend – and find alternatives to animal substances. Among other things, Primavera Life is an example of this. More than 74 % of this manufacturer's products are vegan, and practically 100 % in the case of aroma therapy products. "When we develop new products, we do of course take into account consumers' wishes regarding, for example, vegan raw materials and effectiveness, " explains Andrea Dahm from product management at Primavera. "Since vegan cosmetics products are becoming increasingly important for many customers, we've naturally considered adapting our existing products, but replacing the non-vegan raw materials with vegan alternatives would mean a huge cost and would influence the effectiveness of products that have been on the market for many years and are very popular. Because we don't want to disappoint customer expectations, we have so far not embarked on the reformulation of products." Germany assumes pioneering vegan role In terms of consumer interest and attracting media attention, Germany is a trendsetter. Gero Leson, Director of Special Operations at Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in the USA, a brand offering almost exclusively vegan products: "In contrast to Germany, in the USA vegan food and cosmetics have not become an issue for consumers. However, a niche market for vegan products does exist – and it's growing. But in the cosmetics sector there is no awareness on the part of consumers, and we don't have the relevant number of manufacturers to advertise vegan cosmetics. In this regard, Germany has assumed a clear pioneering role." The German market now faces the challenge of taking advantage of the close link between organic shoppers, natural cosmetics and vegan cosmetics to appeal to new target groups with their niche product range. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Exhibition News :: home page |